Hybrid View

Baseball Forecaster

I bought the Forecaster a few years back and subscribed to Baseball HQ since. Having an understanding of the basic principles already, is there a benefit to owning the 2018 Forecaster as well as having my subscription?

If the main reason you would buy the Baseball Forecaster book is for the 2018 player projections and comments, the projections on the website are more current and easier to access and use. The comments are on the website at each PlayerLink page but are much easier to read in the book form than by clicking through to each PlayerLink page.

There is lot of other useful content in the book such as background about research findings and other essays. It's well done (in my very highly biased opinion) and fun to read but ... it's February 9, just weeks before draft day. You're probably not positioned to spend time now on background issues. I

It's your call, but having the Forecaster book is more valuable in November or December than it is now. You might want to get the 2019 book promptly but do without the 2018 book at this point of the off-season.

“I realized that I was in the top 20 or whatever last year for hard-hit balls, but I was also fourth in the league in soft contact. That led me to think. A lot of that had to do with swinging at pitches outside of the strike zone." -- Kevin Pillar (2017)

Yes and no. There are some sections (the Forecaster's toolbox and the glossary) that are updated less frequently than annually and when they are updated are changed only gradually. However, there are some sections (condensed versions or updated versions of articles that were originally on BaseballHQ.com) on baseball analysis and gaming strategies that are new each year. Its content is similar to what's on the website, but it's really helpful to have it pulled together in book format (even if you're reading the pdf electronically).

At the risk of repeating myself, I recommend the book. I bought it every year even before I started doing work for BaseballHQ.com. I'm just saying at this point of the off-season, for someone who is accustomed to not having the book each year, I'd prioritize studying the player pool and figuring your own team's draft strategy above getting the book. If you started reading the book today, February 9, you'd start with the player capsules, which are on the website in a less convenient format.

“I realized that I was in the top 20 or whatever last year for hard-hit balls, but I was also fourth in the league in soft contact. That led me to think. A lot of that had to do with swinging at pitches outside of the strike zone." -- Kevin Pillar (2017)